Students at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School invite the community to participate in their fourth annual ALS walk.
The event will take place Friday April 8, beginning at 1:15 p.m. on Fifth Avenue, said teacher Leigh Chapman.
The walk will last 90 minutes in recognition of the fact that every 90 minutes someone is either diagnosed or dies from ALS, Chapman said.
She said the event began after one of their student’s parents was diagnosed with the illness four years ago. Chapman said she has also known someone diagnosed with ALS. The event provides the children a chance to become educated about the illness, which is a neurodegenerative disease affecting the body’s central nervous system.
Over the past three years the walks have raised about $14,000, which is donated to the Louisiana and Mississippi chapter of the ALS Association, Chapman said. The organization holds monthly meetings for those providing care to ALS patients and ALS caregivers, the closest of which is held in Kiln.
Each year the event has grown, Chapman said, and has also attracted the attention of city and county officials. She invites everyone in the community to participate in this year’s event.
“We’re doing this to get the awareness out there,” Chapman said.